The Milton Fire Department safely extinguished a chimney fire on Wednesday, February 1. The landlord of the home was issued two fines of $360 each for failing to install working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in the house.
After the fire was extinguished, it was discovered that the home did not have any smoke alarms or a carbon monoxide alarm. As a landlord, it is the home owner’s responsibility to install and maintain smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their rental units.
“A working smoke alarm is crucial to your survival,” said Captain of Fire Prevention Steve Ellis. “It’s unfortunate that we keep coming across people who don’t understand the importance of early detection and warning of a fire in your home.”
In a nearby municipality, the absence of smoke alarms had more serious consequences. The investigation by the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management into a fatal fire in Brampton, on Tuesday, February 14, 2017, revealed that there were no smoke alarms in the residence.
The Milton Fire Department is urging the public, whether they are landlords, tenants or home owners, to make sure that they have working smoke alarms on every storey of their home and outside all sleeping areas, and have practised a home fire escape plan with everyone in their home.
“If you are a landlord, it is your responsibility to ensure your rental properties have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in compliance with the law,” said Acting Fire Chief Dave Pratt. “If you are a tenant of a rental property, contact your landlord immediately, if your rental property does not have the required number of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.”
For more information on fire safety, visit www.miltonfire.ca.
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